These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal . . . shepherding them rightly. (Ez 34:11-16)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062422.cfm
Devotion to the Heart of Christ invites us to contemplate the humanity of the Good Shepherd and so enter into the very heart of God. And so the church teaches us to pray: O Sacred Heart of Jesus, make our hearts like unto yours.
Alleluia (Lk 1:76)
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062322-day.cfm
The birth of a child invites us all to reflect on what this child will become. The birth of John the Baptist is no different. To prepare the way of the Lord is a good description of the portrayal of the ministry of John the Baptist in the Scriptures. To prepare the way of the Lord is a good description of the work we are called to and of the work of disciples in every age.
The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in the temple of the LORD.” (2 Kgs 22:8-13; 23:1-3)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062222.cfm
Israel was divided into two kingdoms, north and south, since the time of Solomon. When the northern kingdom fell (722 BC), which was described in Monday’s reading, refugees flooded the southern kingdom, Judah and its capital, Jerusalem. The Book of the Law (the Book of Deuteronomy) was most likely brought by the refugees when they fled. Its “discovery” in the Temple in Jerusalem filled the southern kingdom with hope and renewed faith. Of course, the southern kingdom itself will fall some 136 years later in 586 BC.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.” (Mt 7:6,12-14)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062122.cfm
Saint Aloysius found that the way to life led him to care for others—not very popular thing to do in a time of plague. And, of course, he died of plague at the age of 23. The church has always admired apostolic zeal especially in the young. Saint Aloysius is one of the patron saints of those living with AIDS and of those who care for them.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” (Mt 7:1-5)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062022.cfm
In a time of such division in the political world as well as in the ecclesiastical realm, these words from Jesus will probably not be received as Good News. In fact, they never have been. But instead of being discouraged . . . we keep the faith and continue to work for a more humane world and a kinder, gentler church.
